The Culex Experiment
"The Culex Experiment" is the first episode of season two of The Tomorrow People 1990s Series. Kevin witnesses an abduction only to be stung by a deadly new variety of mosquito. The Tomorrow People must prevent the wrold from being held to ransom by the insane Doctor Culex, and prevent a dangerous new technology from falling into the wrong hands.The Tomorrow People New Series Episode Guide, tomorrowpeoplelab.net Summary Episode One In a laboratory hang a series of large cocoons and advanced equipment. The scientist in charge, Dr. Culex, watches on a monitor as a white-coated man flees through a forest. She releases a swarm of insects after him. At a nearby house, Kevin is reminded by his aunt Ruth Tanner that he was meant to meet Megabyte at the station. Kevin says not until six. Aunt Ruth says it's twenty-five to seven. Culex sees Kevin cycling on her monitor. The white-coated man runs out in front of him, causing him to crash his bike. Both Megabyte at the station and Adam in the ship sense his distress. The man is stung by one of the insects and collapses. Two white-suited figures wearing helmets pull up in a motorcycle and sidecar and take the man away. Culex phones someone to say the boy on the bike has seen too much and to get him. Megabyte finds Kevin in a fluster. He goes to a phone box to call the police. As he is telling them what he saw, one of the mosquitoes that stung the man attacks Kevin and stings him. Megabyte chases off the two white-suited figures as they try to grab the comatose Kevin. Adam teleports in nearby and he and Megabyte try to use their powers to help Kevin to no effect. Ruth goes to the hospital on hearing Kevin is in there. A girl, Ami Jackson, walks past and seems to know Ruth for a moment. Ruth is collected by Dr. Poole. Ami knowingly remarks that Kevin will be all right in the end. Inspector Platt arrives and sarcastically dismisses Adam and Megabyte's story, exaggerating that they're claiming Kevin was nearly abducted by aliens in a flying saucer. Platt thinks Kevin simply crashed his bike. The pair try to leave. Platt tells them to wait...then says they can leave. Adam and Megabyte join Poole looking over Kevin and introduce themselves to Ruth. Poole says he's in some kind of unexplained coma. Ami visits her mother in another ward, where she is recovering from appendicitis. As she witters on, Ami starts having flashes of Kevin being attacked and ends up running out. Poole decides to take a blood sample to check for poison. Ami enters and says he's been bitten. Adam and Megabyte agree. Poole finds the mark on his neck. Adam and Megabyte take Ami outside and tell her she's a Tomorrow Person. Adam reminds her that she hears voices and feels different. Megabyte suggests they take her to the spaceship. Adam irritably says he was trying to break it to her gently. Ami walks away. As she goes inside, she passes two red-haired women in green overalls. She seems to sense something but shrugs it off. Poole is taking the blood sample from Kevin when the two women enter. They knock him out and pour the sample down the sink. Ruth tells Platt that she can't get in touch with Kevin's parents. She nearly goes into Kevin's room and just misses seeing the Twins and the unconscious Poole. Ami is apologising to her mother for running off, saying it won't happen again. She suddenly senses Kevin is in trouble. The Twins remove him from his bed. Ami runs out into the corridor, shouting out for Adam and Megabyte; she now believes them. They find Poole unconscious in Kevin's bed. Adam and Megabyte teleport out to the two entrances. The Twins wheel Kevin out of the hospital. Ami follows and sees them leaving on the motorbike. She runs into Adam, Ruth and Megabyte. Platt is making a phone call dismissing the case as kids messing about when he gets the call about Kevin. Poole admonishes Platt for not leaving a guard on Kevin despite being told a kidnap attempt had been made. Adam and Megabyte have filled Ruth in on the Tomorrow People. They decide to head back to the ship and take Ami with them when they teleport. Platt enters looking for the kids. Ruth tells him they just popped out. Adam and Megabyte show Ami around the ship. Megabyte explains it's under an island in the South Pacific. Ami agrees that she feels like she belongs. Platt interviews Poole, making insincere apologies. He complains about the Tomorrow People not giving him a straight answer and that Poole can give him information. Poole admits he glimpsed his attackers and says it was two women: medium-build, straight dark reddish brown hair, pale complexion, green eyes. Platt is confused when he says they were twins and becomes increasingly sceptical, ending up throwing his notes away. Adam, Megabyte and Ami attempt to do a mind reach to find Kevin. They link minds and see Kevin's accident, the man being attacked and kidnapped, and Kevin being stung and taken by the Twins. Ami collapses from the shock. Episode Two Adam and Megabyte reassure Ami; none of them know where Kevin is but saw what bit him. At the hospital, Platt is chiding Ruth when the Tomorrow People teleport in behind him asking for help and information. Platt asks to speak to them one at a time. He demands information from Megabyte and to know the connection between the teens. He warns him not to interfere in the investigation. The four leave the hospital, realising they'll get no help from Platt and have to do something themselves. On a country road, a girl, Jade Weston, is walking her dog, Bonnie, who disappears under a fence. Back at Ruth's house, Adam asks her about becoming a vet. Ami wishes she'd seen the motorbike's number. Adam and Megabyte realise the glimpse she caught would have been enough and teleport her back to the ship with them. The trio perform a mind link again to bring forth Ami's memory of what she saw. She is able to pick out the number plate: GF 8915. They go to see Platt, who is sceptical that they suddenly remember especially when Ami says they mind linked. He tries to throw them out, but Megabyte dodges past him to the police computer and gets the address where the bike is registered, Humber House in Brocksford; and the owner's name, which is given simply as "Jeffries". Adam, Megabyte and Ami accompany Platt to the house where they are greeted by the Twins. They are shown to Jeffries, who is actually Culex. She says the motorbike was part of an antique collection of vehicles she owns, but was stolen two days ago. She didn't contact the police because she was in London. Platt thinks that ends the matter. The three Tomorrow People head back to the house, defeated. There, Ruth and Jade are waiting for them with Bonnie, who is showing the same symptoms as Kevin. Ruth and Ami decide to go and take a blood sample to Poole while Adam and Megabyte stay to quiz Jade. They realise she was near Culex's house. Ruth gives Poole the blood sample for testing. Ami has met up with her mother and tells her an evasive story about her new friends. She insists they're not the sort to get into trouble. Meanwhile, Adam and Megabyte have returned to Humber House. Culex sees them on a monitor and activates a number of speakers that send out a high-pitched noise. In agony, the pair teleport out. Ruth tries to get the Tomorrow People to talk to Platt but they think they won't be believed. Ami believes Kevin is at the house. Ruth gets a phone call and has to head out on a job. After she's gone, someone sneaks in and removes Bonnie. Ami follows them but is grabbed as well. Poole is analysing the blood sample. He calls Adam, saying the implications are terrifying. However, before he can say more, he is chloroformed. Adam and Megabyte teleport to the lab to find it deserted, with both Poole and his results gone. Adam and Megabyte go to see General Damon. He is in a meeting but says he'll talk to them in ten minutes. Megabyte says it'll probably be two and a half hours. Meanwhile, Ami is being held by Culex and the Twins in the laboratory. Culex describes the mosquito as the most perfect creature in creation, saying she's in love with them. She says she has added together the greatest talents of all mosquito species to produce the ultimate predator. She seals Ami inside a clear tube then releases the mosquito into it with her. Ami cries out for help. Episode Three Adam and Megabyte slowly begin to sense Ami's distress. They teleport out just as Damon returns, carrying a Wanted picture of Culex. They find only Ruth at the house and so focus, telepathically linking with Ami and teleporting her to them. Culex and the Twins are stunned. However, Culex notes they move on that evening. At the house, Ami tells Adam, Megabyte and Ruth her story. She doesn't know where the laboratory is, although it's probably at Humber House. Ruth decides they need to go to the police and Ami agrees. The pair leave. Adam and Megabyte go back to Humber House. They teleport inside. Ami and Ruth go to see Platt and tell him about Culex and her laboratory. He is reluctant to help. Adam finds Megabyte is wearing earplugs "just in case". They hear a noise outside and find the motorbike in the back of a lorry. They hide inside as the Twins load the cocoon. Culex drives off in a sports car, leaving the Twins to follow in the lorry. Ami, Ruth and Platt are en route to the house in a police car, just missing Culex's car. Ami is again unable to answer all Platt's questions. They pass the lorry and Ami senses something from it but says nothing. Inside, Adam and Megabyte check out the cocoon, which Adam suspects is full of mosquitos. They find one of the crates contains Kevin. Megabyte teleports him back to Ruth's place. Ami, Ruth and Platt get no answer at the house and Platt refuses to investigate further. Ami and Ruth return home and find Megabyte and Kevin; Megabyte fills them in. Megabyte repeats Adam's observation that the hospital isn't safe for Kevin and notes their best hope of an antidote is from Culex. Next morning, Ami goes back to see her mother. She again wants to know what's going on and, knowing Ami's in trouble, wants to send her to stay with her aunt. Ami says she'll tell her what's going on eventually but she has to help her friends. Mrs Jackson accepts she's grown up and hugs her. Adam communicates with Megabyte telepathically from the truck, which has just arrived in London. Ruth is bemused. Ami is also able to talk telepathically now. Adam gives Megabyte the street name: Griffin Road SW1. They realise it's where Damon's office is. The truck drops off one of the Twins outside the office, dressed as a window cleaner. Adam relays the information to Megabyte and Ami. Damon is conducting a meeting with his aides. Megabyte turns up to see him and Damon again says he'll be out in ten minutes. He tells his staff they're protecting a machine that's potentially dangerous. The Twin listens at the window. Damon's aide, Jim, promises security at the airport and also agrees to look after the son of the machine's creator. Damon arranges a meeting with Commander Scott. Megabyte bursts in and sees the Twin. Everyone chases her but she manages to hide behind a pillar. Damon asks Megabyte what's going on. Adam follows the other Twin into a warehouse. As he is looking around, she throws a large drum off an upper gantry towards him. Episode Four Adam dodges the drum but is then chloroformed by Culex. She tells the Twins to put him with the others. Back at Worldex, Megabyte and Damon learn they are both investigating Culex. Megabyte tells Damon she's in London. Damon relays the news to Jim and tells him to call a meeting. Megabyte tries to contact Adam for Culex's location but he is unconscious and being loaded into a pod by the Twins, so unable to respond. Damon refuses to tell Megabyte what's going on. Megabyte storms out. Ruth is looking at a sample of Kevin's blood. She tells Ami they could develop a cure for the poison in time but it could take months. She says having an insect would help. Megabyte teleports in and they explain the situation. Megabyte tells them about Adam. He and Ami feel suddenly sleepy and realise it's Adam. Megabyte teaches Ami how to teleport. They head to the warehouse where Culex is listening to the recording of Damon's meeting. She leads the Twins away. Ami senses Adam's inside a pod and she and Megabyte revive him. A plane arrives at the airport. Damon and his staff greet Dr. Connor and her son Richie. Just as Damon is assuring them about security, Megabyte teleports in. Damon is angry and tells him to leave. Megabyte does, saying he'll handle it himself. He returns to the warehouse where Adam is recovering. The Twins return with a chauffeur's uniform for Culex. Megabyte decides to follow them, stowing away in the boot of the car. Damon escorts Connor to the hotel where the delegates are staying and she meets with Dr. Lee. Richie asks if he can go to Quasar and Damon and Connor agree. The Twins are arguing about tea as Adam and Ami sneak around and look through papers. Ami finds a mosquito in a test tube and teleports back to Ruth's with it. Culex meets Scott in her chauffeur disguise, with Megabyte listening in. Culex releases a mosquito in the back of the car and it stings Scott, rendering her comatose. In an underground car park, Culex changes into Scott's clothes and puts on a wig resembling her hair. She uses a spray to remove the top layer of skin from Scott's hand and puts it on like a glove. Culex meets Damon and Jim disguised as Scott and uses the skin layer to pass a hand scan. A passer-by finds Scott unconscious. Culex asks for a dossier on security arrangements. The police find Megabyte asleep in the car boot. At the conference, Lee introduces Doctor Lucy Connor. Adam looks through papers and finds an old clipping with a photo of Culex and Connor and a headline about a scientist being jailed. He overhears Culex gloating to the Twins about the security arrangements and planning a kidnapping. Connor tells the conference she has learned how to duplicate organic matter. She demonstrates by placing a grain of rice in her machine. It produces a massive shower of rice. The delegates applaud. Adam and Megabyte run up to Damon outside. Damon clears the conference hall. Meanwhile, Jim and Richie are stalking each other through the Quasar arena. The Twins sneak in and grab Richie. Jim rushes back to Worldex with Richie's bag and tells Adam, Megabyte, Damon and Connor that he's been snatched. Adam realises the bag contains a bomb and throws it away. There is a small explosion, revealing a letter for Connor. She shows it to Damon who says it's from Culex: She has Richie and wants the machine. Episode Five Ruth examines the mosquito and tells Ami it's a mix of mosquitos, locusts, hornets and scorpions. She notes human science may have brought about their end. At the hotel, Connor is angry that Damon didn't tell her Culex had escaped from prison. Adam calms the situation. Megabyte points out they know where Culex is but Damon and Connor are worried she would harm Richie. Connor confirms she knew Culex at university: Her real name was Eliza Jeffries but she changed it to Culex, the Latin for mosquito. Connor helped close down her insect experiment. It takes two months to create one of her mosquitos, but with the Cornucopia machine she could create swarms. Ruth examines Kevin, who is getting worse. Ami tells her to go to bed, since their only hope of a cure is Culex. Connor continues to berate Damon. They get a call from Culex, which Damon is preparing to trace. Culex taunts Connor about Richie and says to meet her at the war museum. Connor refuses but Culex seems confident. Damon failed to trace the call. He takes the Cornucopia machine into custody against Connor's wishes and tells her to stay in her room. Culex tells the Twins to make preparations for the machine. Ruth and Ami show Adam and Megabyte the dead mosquito: They've found out they're vulnerable to extreme heat or cold, but a cure would need a genius. They suddenly realise they could ask Connor. The Twins go to the hotel disguised as maids and bluff their way past Connor's guards. She realises Culex has sent them but tells them she doesn't have the machine. The Twins wheel the trolley out of the room. Adam, Megabyte and Ami are turned away by the guards so teleport into the suite and find it empty. They quiz the guards, who tell them about the maids. They all pursue the Twins and the guards catch them but there is no sign of Connor in the trolley. The Tomorrow People realise Connor left voluntarily and Adam suspects she is going to give the machine to Culex. They find Connor on a park bench. She tells Adam she was hoping to hand the machine to Culex and get Richie back but withhold the access code. Adam approves. Adam teleports into Worldex's security room and teleports out with the machine. Jim reports to Damon and says the only way someone could have taken it was to materialise inside. Damon buries his head in his hands. Adam, Megabyte and Ami are watching Connor from across the road as she waits for Culex. They are planning to grab both her and Richie. An ice cream van blocks their view...and when it drives off, Connor and the machine are gone. Culex drives the ice cream van back to the warehouse and Connor sets up the machine. Culex reveals a pod contains a comatose Richie. She has a serum that can save him and threatens to pour it away unless Culex gives her the access code. Damon and his men arrive outside with the Tomorrow People; there was a homing device in the machine. Damon tells the trio to stay in the car. Connor activates the machine, producing the swarm of mosquitos. Damon and his men arrive but Culex smashes the glass tube, releasing the mosquitos to attack them. The Tomorrow People enter as Culex flees to the upper gantry. Ami and Megabyte use the machinery to envelop the mosquitos in liquid nitrogen, killing them. Connor shouts that Culex has the antidote and Adam chases her. Culex prepares to throw it over the side but the railing gives way and she falls as well. Adam teleports and catches the serum. Culex lies dead nearby. At the hospital, Kevin recovers and Poole allows Adam, Megabyte, Ami, Damon, Connor and Richie into the room. Poole notes that the antidote saved all of them. Kevin wonders what he missed. Megabyte says it's a story with a sting in the tail. Everyone hits him with bunches of flowers. Guest Cast * Dr. Culex - Jean Marsh * Dr. Connor - Connie Booth * Inspector Platt - Roger Sloman * Aunt Ruth - Denise Coffey References Category:1990s Series